Founder President: Lady Lothian OBE, Dame of St Gregory, FCJI
Lady Lothian was one of the three women who founded Women of the Year
Lunch and Assembly in 1955. She died on 6 January this year aged 84 and
was an energetic president for more than 40 years.

• Since then, the 'Women of the Year' Lunches have been a sell-out every year and at the same time the event has been of notable benefit to the Greater London Fund for the Blind and other charities. Between 1955 and 2003 it has raised more than £1 million. The question I am most frequently asked is "what gave you the idea?" My personal answer is that the idea, to begin with, was not meant to help charity - it was meant to help women. I first thought of it when I heard of a lunch club which always had a waiting list "because anyone who attended was bound to be sitting next to someone interesting..., I asked, "Can I join in?" The answer was "No - it is only for men". So it struck me, why shouldn`t women have the same opportunity? For the world 1955 was the year Einstein died and Churchill resigned as Britain`s Prime Minister. For myself I was in my twenties, married to a Civil Servant with babies to bring up at home, but also working as a freelance journalist.
• When I sought support for the women`s lunch club from my friends and colleagues the result was dispiriting. Too many answered "it won`t work there aren`t enough interesting women!"
• Well certainly, in the twenty-five years, which have assembled seven hundred Top Women annually, that criticism has been disproved!
• Also, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the fact that men later set up a similarly successful fund-raising event named 'Men of Distinction', should be considered a tribute by our women of the year. In the same context it is interesting to hear of the successful Australian 'Women of the Year' Luncheons and also Women of Scotland and many other similarly popular spin-offs from our original."